April 22 The Berliners have a great sense of humor. You’d have to, to live in a city which has been pummeled to smithereens by war (more than 60% of the city center was left in ruins after 1945) divided and torn apart by the Cold War and then reunited and for the next nearly […]
Tag Archives: berlin
Welcome back fourth time
April 21 Dick and Darlene Muth arrived on April 20th for their fourth trip with European Focus since their first one to Italy in the spring of 2010. This time, we’re spending time in some of the great cities of Europe including Berlin, Prague and Vienna. Follow their adventure here as well as on our […]
Street Artist on the Kurfurstendamm, Berlin
April 19 The Kurfurstendamm is still “the” place to shop in Berlin. It lost a bit of its luster when the eastern part of the city opened up but the once and still prime shopping street in Germany’s capital city is still all about the big brand names and shop til you drop. I spent […]
Ferienwohnung in Berlin
Eine super Wohlfühl- Ferienwohnung im pulsierenden Herzen der Hauptstadt. Kreuzberg ist der ultimative Schmelztiegel für alles Kreative, immer up to date und immer voll im Leben. Unzählige Restaurants, Bars und Kneipen lassen nie Langeweile aufkommen. Wir bieten Ihnen ein Stück Privatshäre, für ein paar Tage, mit Familie,Freunden oder auf Geschäftsreise.4 Personen können hier relaxen und […]
Berlin, Germany and an Inexpensive place to sleep in central Berlin
April 18 In the heart of Berlin in the vibrant neighborhood of Kreuzberg my friends Georg and Martina Siegmann have opened “The Five Lofts” apartments in a former store house that Georg bought in 1986. Moving from Rothenburg ob der Tauber where they owned and operated the successful “Passage 12” gift store, the Siegmanns have […]
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
Left a barren wasteland after WWII, Potsdamer Platz is once again the vibrant unofficial heart of Berlin. Tall skyscrapers built with cutting edge designs and sponsored in part by Sony Corporation, the area is full of light and color and activity until late in the evening. A huge train and underground station takes up acres […]
What's Old is New Again in Berlin
The Reichstag was the seat of the Parliament before the Nazi takeover of Germany in the 1930s. An imposing structure built in the late 1800s, it was the backdrop for Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, when he was proclaimed chancellor by the ailing President von Hindenberg. A mysterious fire destroyed the building in […]
The Berlin Wall and Topography of Terror
I spent nearly three hours at the “Topography of Terror,” located a few blocks to the west of the famous Checkpoint Charlie at the foundation of what used to be Gestapo Headquarters in the heart of Berlin. This landscape is hallowed ground. Many were tortured or murdered here, all in the name of State Security. […]